You don’t need a big story to make it profound. Sometimes, what seems like a wafer thin on the cover actually turns much deeper than anticipated. Ram Gurung’s Kabaddi Kabaddi is a worthy follow-up to his notoriously successful Kabaddi (2014). What seems like a full on comedy movie about love-lost-and-regain actually turns out to be a calendar to routine village life. The situations offered in the film aren’t just limited to the sketchy love saga of its protagonists. This is actually how real life pans out in matters of the heart and heat. For me, by far, this is the most brilliant piece of cinema that has come in the year 2015.
The setting is again in that small village of Naurikot, Mustang. And this time, we are introduced to Bum Kaji (Saugat Malla), a close competition to Kaji (Daya Hang Rai), over his love interest Maiya (Risma Gurung). It’s in this single film that we get to see many thing spinning in that one single reel –
It’s the characters in the film,who keep you invested in the narrative. The most complex of them is the leading man Kaji. Likewise in Kabaddi, here again, his only worthwhile ambition is to woo & control his dream girl Maiya. He doesn’t want to play the best man role in his family. Nor does he aspire to become powerful. He merely wants the world to know that he’s not heartless and he’s not useless. Even though that description seems like the most clichéd character in cinema, you have to see Dayahang Rai’s portrayal to believe in how wonderfully flawed Kaji is as a person. A complete contrast to this guy is his rival Bom Kaji. He’s naughty, brash, outspoken and he can break into a dance at the first whiz of a whistle. When they come together, everything becomes magic, & to witness this, you need to see the film.
Seasoned actors like Maotse Gurung, Pushkar Gurung, Aruna Karki , Pashupati Rai, Buddhiman Tamang and Bijaya Baral chip in with the best of their talent. But the two persons who really live their characters with branded authenticity are Saugat Malla & Dayahang Rai. Their unusual comic timings, the body language, the sense of frustration is all there. Their performance is perfectly controlled and proficiently nuanced. If Saugat Malla evokes laughter even in the odd of hours, Dayahang Rai wrenches your heart.
It's not every day we get to see a film that hits you hard with its humour and sentiment so effortlessly. For this alone, Ram Gurung, the director & writer of the film deserves a standing ovation. I’m going with three & a half out of five for Kabaddi Kabddi. Carry hanky for your eyes if you are soft-hearted. This one bounces between laughter and tears.
